Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees

The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees is a strategic plan to plant ten billion trees to increase the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's green spaces and vegetation cover as a part of the Saudi Green Initiative. This plan is implemented in two phases and was announced by the Kingdom in 2023, in line with the second edition of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week, which the Kingdom hosted for the first time from October 8-12, 2023, in Riyadh City.

The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees is based on a detailed strategic scientific feasibility study that lasted for two years. This study was conducted in collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, with the participation of local and international experts in various fields.

The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees relies on a strategic plan designed to enhance vegetation cover in all natural habitat areas, in addition to cities, green spaces, and highways. This plan aims to improve the health and well-being of the Kingdom's population, the majority of whom live in urban areas. City centers are expected to benefit from increased tree density, which will help lower temperatures by 2.2 degrees Celsius and improve air quality. Vegetation in cities contributes to reducing carbon dioxide levels.

Implementing the roadmap will create job opportunities across the Kingdom through performing tasks such as planting trees, establishing new parks and reserves, collecting seeds, developing networks for the reuse of treated water, and preparing and maintaining agricultural lands.

The 'Saudi Green Initiative' is one of the largest reforestation initiatives in the world, reflecting the Kingdom's commitment to addressing various environmental challenges facing the country, including low rainfall rates, limited arable lands, and forest areas below global averages.

The initial goal announced for planting ten billion trees was equivalent to rehabilitating forty million ha of land in the Kingdom. However, this goal was increased to 74.8 million ha of land after conducting the study. The goal of planting ten billion trees constitutes 1 percent of the global reforestation target and 20 percent of the fifty billion trees target set by the 'Middle East Green Initiative'.

The feasibility study expanded to focus on enabling the Kingdom to achieve the goal of planting ten billion trees, including sustainable irrigation methods that can be used in afforestation activities and ensuring the selected tree species are compatible with the vegetation cover and can adapt to the Kingdom's climate. The study included conducting more than 1,150 field surveys in different regions of the Kingdom to identify the most suitable geographical locations for planting trees, based on various environmental conditions, including soil, water, temperature, wind, and elevation above sea level.

The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees is implemented in two phases. The first phase extends from 2024 to 2030 and follows a nature-based approach to environmental rehabilitation. The second phase begins in 2030, during which a human-driven approach to environmental rehabilitation will be adopted.

It is expected that more than six hundred million trees will be planted by 2030, equivalent to rehabilitating 3.8 million ha of land. Restoring and protecting biodiversity is one of the key aspects focused on in the goal of planting ten billion trees.

The Kingdom is home to more than two thousand plant species, thriving across a variety of natural habitats, including mangrove forests, wetlands, mountain forests, grasslands, national parks, and valleys.

The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees initiative falls under the 'Saudi Green Initiative,' launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, crown prince, prime minister, and chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Saudi Green Initiative in March 2021. This initiative is a part of Saudi Vision 2030, aiming to improve the quality of life, increase vegetation cover, preserve the climate and environment, protect terrestrial and marine nature, and rely on clean energy. The initiative also falls within the Kingdom's national and international commitments to addressing environmental challenges related to climate and improving the quality of life for citizens through the long-term economic and social benefits that will be achieved through afforestation. The Roadmap to Plant Ten Billion Trees represents an extension of afforestation efforts in the Kingdom. Between 2017 and 2023, forty-one million trees were planted across various provinces of the Kingdom.